Hall of Fame reveals committee to consider Bonds, Clemens

COOPERSTOWN, N.Y. — Hall of Fame players Ferguson Jenkins, Jim Kaat, Juan Marichal, Tony Pérez, Ozzie Smith, Alan Trammell and Robin Yount are among 16 members of the contemporary era committee that will consider an eight-man Hall ballot that includes Barry Bonds, Roger Clemens, Don Mattingly and Dale Murphy.

Owners Mark Attanasio of the Milwaukee Brewers and Arte Moreno of the Los Angeles Angels also are on the committee that gathers Sunday at the winter meetings in Orlando, Florida.

They will be joined by former major league general managers Kim Ng, Doug Melvin, Tony Reagins and Terry Ryan, and media members Tyler Kepner and Jayson Stark of The Athletic and historian Steve Hirdt, the Hall said Tuesday.

Hall chair Jane Forbes Clark will be the non-voting chair of the committee, which considers a ballot that also includes Carlos Delgado, Jeff Kent, Gary Sheffield and Fernando Valenzuela. The contemporary era considers players whose greatest contributions to the sport were from 1980 on.

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Each voter can select up to three candidates, and 75% or more of ballots are needed for election. Anyone chosen will be inducted into the Hall of Fame on July 26 along with players voted in by the Baseball Writers’ Association of America, whose balloting will be announced on Jan. 20.

Under a change announced by the Hall last March, any candidate on the ballot who receives fewer than five votes will not be eligible for that committee’s ballot during the next three-year cycle. A candidate who is dropped, later reappears on a ballot and again receives fewer than five votes would be barred from future ballot appearances.

Bonds and Clemens fell short in 2022 in their 10th and final appearances on the BBWAA ballot, when Bonds received 260 of 394 votes (66%) and Clemens 257 (65.2%). Sheffield received 63.9% in his final BBWAA vote in 2024, getting 246 votes and falling 43 shy.

Bonds denied knowingly using performance-enhancing drugs and Clemens maintains he never used PEDs. Sheffield said he was unaware that substances he used during training ahead of the 2002 season contained steroids.

A seven-time NL MVP and 14-time All-Star outfielder, Bonds set the career home run record with 762 and the season record with 73 in 2001.

A seven-time Cy Young Award winner, Clemens went 354-184 with a 3.12 ERA and 4,672 strikeouts, third behind Nolan Ryan (5,714) and Randy Johnson (4,875).

Sheffield, a nine-time All-Star and the 1992 NL batting champion, hit .292 with 509 homers, 1,676 RBIs and 253 stolen bases. He started his big league career at shortstop, moved to third base and then the outfield.

Murphy, a seven-time All-Star outfielder who hit .265 with 398 homers, 1,266 RBIs and 161 steals, was on the BBWAA ballot 15 times and received a high of 116 votes (23.2%) in 2000.

Mattingly received a high of 145 votes (28.2%) in the first of 15 appearances on the BBWAA ballot in 2001. A six-time All-Star first baseman, he hit .307 with 222 homers and 1,099 RBIs in 14 years.

Delgado got 3.8% of the 2015 BBWAA vote and the outfielder was dropped from future ballots. He hit .280 with 473 homers and 1,512 RBIs.

Kent got a high of 46.5% in the last of 10 BBWAA ballot appearances in 2023. A five-time All-Star second baseman, he batted .290 with 377 homers and 1,518 RBIs.

Valenzuela, who died in October 2024, received 6.2% support from the BBWAA in 2003 and 3.8% in 2004, then was dropped. A six-time All-Star and the 1981 NL Cy Young Award winner, he was 173-153 with a 3.54 ERA and 2,074 strikeouts in 17 seasons.

The Hall in 2022 restructured its veterans committees for the third time in 12 years, setting up panels to consider the contemporary era from 1980 on as well as the classic era. The contemporary baseball era holds separate ballots for players and another for managers, executives and umpires.

Each committee meets every three years. Contemporary managers, executives and umpires will be considered in December 2026, classic era candidates in December 2027 and contemporary era players again in December 2028.

The ballot was determined by the BBWAA’s 11-person historical overview committee: Adrian Burgos (University of Illinois), Bob Elliott (Canadian Baseball Network), Steve Hirdt (Stats Perform), La Velle Neal (Minnesota Star Tribune), David O’Brien (The Athletic), Jose de Jesus Ortiz (Our Esquina Media), Jack O’Connell (BBWAA); Jim Reeves (formerly Fort Worth Star-Telegram); Glenn Schwarz (formerly San Francisco Chronicle); Susan Slusser (San Francisco Chronicle); and Mark Whicker (formerly Southern California News Group).

Cole Hamels, Ryan Braun and Matt Kemp are among 12 newcomers on the BBWAA ballot. Carlos Beltrán heads 15 holdovers after falling 19 votes shy in 2025 balloting.

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